


Trouble with Tapas

by junko



Series: Scatter and Howl [19]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-29
Updated: 2015-05-29
Packaged: 2018-04-01 20:47:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4034038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/junko/pseuds/junko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It starts as a quiet night out.  Then things go to hell.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Trouble with Tapas

**Author's Note:**

> For those of you missing the drama in this never-ending ByaRen soap of mine, this one's for you....

Renji liked the variety of ‘tapas,’ but the portions left him wanting. The beer, however, was good and plentiful.

“How’s the new house steward working out?” Renji asked as he skewered the last _cojonudo_ , a tiny sandwich made of fried quail egg and some kind of spicy sausage meat. 

“Ah… Hitoshi,” Byakuya worked very hard to bring the name into his mind. “Yes, I think that’s it. Hitoshi. I suppose he’s pleasant enough, though I already miss Eishirō.”

Renji nodded. Eishirō’s punishment was going to be hard on the estate. And Byakuya. But, at least the steward hadn’t been banished. No one was dead. Blessings should be counted.

“Where’d this Hitoshi guy come from?” Byakuya seemed confused by the question, so Renji tried again, “I mean, what did he do before? You know, for your household.”

“I have no idea,” Byakuya admitted with a brief frown. His fingers moved along the edge of the menu as if itching to get back to perusing it. “Eishirō assured me that Hitoshi would be a passable replacement. And so he has been.” 

That seemed to be enough for Byakuya, but Renji was more than a little worried about dealing with ‘attitude.’ There had been no obvious sniffing or ‘you don’t deserve this mon’ from the new guy, but Renji remembered how long it took for Eishirō to come around to the idea of the two of them. At least, the majority of the estate’s staff was on board these days. That was why Renji wondered where Hitoshi had come from. So long as it was an internal promotion, he wasn’t all that concerned. If he’d been borrowed from some other noble’s household…?

Well, it would be what it would be. Eishirō would be back soon enough.

The sausage was so spicy-hot that Renji had to take a long guzzle of water to try to dispel the heat. He wouldn’t have ordered the cojonudo at all if the waiter hadn’t winked at them and told them that its Spanish name translated to ‘superb male.’ Renji should have known that any Spanish ‘manly-man’ food would be too spicy for him. “Do you suppose they have anything mild on the list?”

Gratefully, Byakuya picked the menu up and looked. “The olives were quite good. Apparently this ‘queso con anchoas’ is just cheese and anchovies.”

“That sounds safe,” Renji agreed. Picking up his own menu, he glanced through it, skipping anything that had words like ‘salsa’ or ‘paprika.’ “Hey, how about this thing: _solomillo al whisky_? It’s pork marinated in whiskey.”

“Yes, there seem to be several not-so-hot things,” Byakuya said. “Here’s another: _ensaladilla russ_ , which seems to be boiled vegetables, tuna, and mayonnaise.”

“You know, you can get the hotter stuff, if you like,” Renji pointed out. 

“Yes, of course, though I would rather share. It seems auspicious to do so, considering your proposal,” Byakuya smiled. 

Renji smiled at that, but Byakuya wasn’t looking at him. He seemed engrossed learning the menu. 

Though the food was Spanish, the beer was Mexican. Byakuya had ordered them something called ‘Bohemia Obscura’ after having been assured that not only was it the best on offer, but also the favorite of both Captain Kyōraku and Unohana. Renji had a hell of a time imagining sweet, old Unohana drinking, especially something so powerful, but apparently she did.

From the first sip, Renji could tell this was a knock your socks off kind of brew. He was kind of surprised not to see more of the guys from the Eleventh here. They would be as soon as they found out about this beer, because it was strong, tasty, and actually not that expensive as such things went.

Renji scanned the crowd. Tables of two or four or more all laughed or cooed over the fun little treats. No one gave them a second glance. It was strange to be able to go out like this, in public, and not have people staring in awe of the Kuchiki clan head. 

The two of them had lapsed into silence while Renji hunted for a good conversation starter. He didn’t exactly want to share the fact that he’d agreed to do a Human World run for Urahara in exchange for information on how to get a same-sex partnership certificate. Not only was Byakuya sure to disapprove of anything involving Urahara, there wasn’t much to tell yet as far as details. 

The Division was doing well. Not a lot of issues, currently. Most people were still in a state of shell shock after the defeat of Aizen. The Seireitei had been holding its collective breath. Now that Aizen was safely encased in kidō, most people were starting to get back to business as usual. 

No one had had much time to misbehave, at any rate. With both Byakuya and Renji gone from the Division, it had been an ‘all hands on deck’ situation. Besides, Nanako was a good administrator. It probably helped that she was dating the troublesome Kinjo. She kept him in line.

But Renji did kind of want more details about what Byakuya and Kyōraku had talked about, and he figured he knew a way to get there. “So, I dropped by the Thirteenth today to check on Rukia.”

“Oh?” Byakuya set down the menu. “She’s been keeping to herself, staying busy. I haven’t heard much from her. How is she doing?”

“I asked about Ichigo and she gave me her brave face. You know how she is,” Renji said. “I figure she’s hurting. She won’t show it though. She’s like you that way.” In fact, sometimes Renji forgot Rukia wasn’t a Kuchiki by blood, even though of all people he should know best. She looked surprisingly like her adopted brother and had so quickly learned to use the Kuchiki game face when it suited her. “I guess she’s planning on going cold turkey. She’s cutting all ties with Ichigo. Hard. I couldn’t do it.”

“You couldn’t?” Byakuya said, picking up another little sandwich, this one made with smoked salmon, lemon-flavored cream cheese, capers, and red onion. “What if I asked you never to see me? What if I told you it would be too difficult?”

Renji didn’t hesitate. “Yeah, no. We’d have a fight I guess, because I don’t believe there’s anything too difficult for love.”

Byakuya’s eyebrows twitched in amusement. “Who knew you were such a stubborn romantic?”

Renji laughed, “Well, you should! I’m still here, ain’t I?”

“Good point.” Byakuya sipped the beer. He seemed a little surprised by the kick, but took another.

“But, seriously, if Ichigo were you… yeah, I’d be talking to Urahara about making me a fulltime gigai. I mean I know she can’t just quit the Gotei, but what the fuck are weekends for?” Renji wondered. “It isn’t like it’s hard for her to find a senkaimon, both you and Ukitake have one.”

Byakuya nibbled the last of the olives, clearly a favorite of the little dishes. “Should Ichigo not go on with his normal life?”

“Well, sure,” Renji said around a sip of beer. “But, why can’t they do that together? Yeah, different worlds and all that, but, I don’t know. I’d at least try.”

“Is it possible we’ve misread them?” Byakuya asked thoughtfully. “Could it be that they’re just friends?”

Renji used a bit of bread to sop up leftover olive oil on his plate. As he chewed, he considered the question. He just didn’t think so, but who knew how Rukia’s mind worked. Had she ever actually said she loved that crazy-haired kid? Finally, he gave up with a shrug, “Well, if she isn’t, I kind of don’t know what love is.”

“That’s just it, isn’t it? Perhaps it’s only our perspective,” Byakuya said. “Though to be honest, the Shiba are problematic… on many levels. I’d be just as happy if she were to find love elsewhere. For once.”

Renji laughed. Rukia did seem to have a Shiba kink. Renji chose not point out it was no stranger than Byakuya’s Inuzuri fetish. “Yeah, so, Ukitake seems to be fully recovered and in good spirits. Also, I think I’m going to be getting a copy of his recipe for buckwheat honey cookies by butterfly, even though I told him I don’t exactly have a kitchen.”

“Pass it along to Miki if you really enjoyed them, Renji,” Byakuya said. “How funny that you were with Ukitake when Kyōraku visited me.”

“Yeah, he just dropped by, huh?” Renji shook his head in wonderment, “How does that guy just waltz through our gates?”

“It’s not as though we barred him,” Byakuya pointed out. “He is a captain. He always acts pleasant and harmless enough.”

 _'Acts.' Exactly,_ Renji thought. “Eh, and depending on who was on the gate, flattery and flirting might have opened doors for him. He’s quite the charmer. You know he talked me into kissing him once.”

Byakuya blinked. Then his surprised face narrowed into something more… cold and dangerous. “Kyouraku’s birthday party at the Eleventh.”

Wait, had Byakuya been there? The beer Renji had been drinking went down hard. Byakuya’s mood had shifted pretty radically. “You ain’t really jealous of a harmless drunken kiss, are you? Dude is hairy as a bear. I’m not looking to do that again anytime soon.”

“No, it’s not that,” Byakuya said. He glared at Renji over his glass of beer as if willing Renji to recall something critical. 

Then he remembered. He’d been really, really shitfaced that night and had fallen into bed with Isane. But… Byakuya didn’t know anything about that, did he?

“We were in a difficult place, you and I,” Byakuya said. The words seemed casual enough, but he was clearly fishing for something. 

But, was it something he already knew? Or something that would get Renji in a world of trouble?

“Ye… ah,” Renji admitted cautiously. Then, he gave up. Letting the tension building his shoulders drop, he asked, “What are you talking about? You trying to see if I’ll confess to something?”

“I went looking for you that night. Actually, I may have just been soul searching when Yachiru found me,” Byakuya said. He filled up his beer from the pitcher. Renji didn’t remember him finishing the first glass. Byakuya took another long swallow and said, “Regardless of how I got there, I was at that party. You’re terrible about hiding the reiatsu flush of orgasm.”

Renji’s face flushed, “Jeez, Byakuya! You don’t just say…” he dropped his voice to a whisper and he glanced around to see if they were overheard, “’orgasm’ like that!”

“My word choice is hardly the issue here.”

“It was a one-off,” Renji muttered defensively. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, leaning back in the Western style chair. “I kind of thought we were breaking up. Or at the very least I figured the only thing you wanted me for was that—what’s it—wakashū. I was looking for fun, uncomplicated sex for once.”

The moment it was out of his mouth, Renji wanted to reel it back in. 

“Uh, I mean at _the time_ ,” Renji tried to salvage it. “I don’t mean that we’re un-fun _now_. It was just, _at the time_ , things were so… well, you know things were complicated, you just said that.”

Ah, fuck.

The worst part was that Byakuya said nothing. His face was empty and blank. His eyes were hooded and downcast and he drank his beer with slow deliberation. 

Meanwhile, Renji desperately tried to backpedal. Why did he have to blurt out shit like that today, of all days, when just this morning he’d made such a big fucking deal about Rose? Way to just stab Byakuya in the heart, not once, but twice! 

He waited, but Byakuya’s silence was deafening.

“I want to marry you,” Renji said solemnly, if with a quaver of desperation. “Can I just say that again?”

Byakuya glanced up briefly at that. Their gaze held for less than a millisecond before Byakuya dropped it, but Renji read everything he needed to in that momentary flash.

Byakuya was hurt.

Deeply.

“Can we…” Renji stumbled, and then started again. He pulled his napkin from his lap and pushed back his chair. “Can’t we go home and talk about this?”

“What is there to discuss, Renji?” Byakuya asked, his voice flat and hollow. He drank the beer like it was water. “It’s not as if I’m unaware of my shortcomings as a lover.”

“Okay, see, this here is what we need to talk about. I don’t find you lacking in any way as a lover,” Renji pointed out, his hands up, placating. He leaned in, keeping his voice low, as Byakuya continued to not look at him and sipped his beer. “It was just that one time. When things were, you know, rough. I didn’t exactly feel… valued back then, if you see what I’m saying. But things are different now.”

“Yes, they are.” Byakuya dropped his voice and added, “But it has always been my kink and not yours.”

Renji started to protest, but all that came out was a kind of sighing grunt of acknowledgement. Denying it would be no good, so what did he say? “Yeah, maybe, but there’s things I like a lot. Can we talk about the humbler?”

That actually brought out a brief little grim laugh from Byakuya. More beer went down and Byakuya frowned at the empty glass. “Is it enough that you’ve found things to enjoy?”

“Yes,” Renji said without a second’s hesitation. “Isn’t that what it’s all about, anyways? Finding out what we both like?”

“I don’t compromise,” Byakuya said. He poured himself another beer. What was this, his third? “I told you at the start that I was too hard for you.”

“Yeah, well, you were wrong about that,” Renji pointed out. “You also told me to go find someone else to break me in and come back to you. I didn’t do that either, thank the gods.”

Byakuya was silent, his lips pressed together in a thin line. Eyes down, Byakuya seemed far away and slipping further with every moment.

Renji leaned across the table. Reaching out, he tapped Byakuya’s nose, which shocked him into looking up. Renji captured his gaze. “You want to be less hard? You want to give me something in bed that I like? I got a few ideas for you.”

Byakuya watched him, but his face skeptical and wary. “Oh?”

“Yep,” Renji smiled wolfishly. “Come a little closer and I’ll whisper ‘em in your ear.”

Instead, Byakuya pulled away and sat further back. His brows creased unhappily and he reached for his glass. “Shouldn’t we discuss this? Isn’t it serious?”

“Probably,” Renji said, standing up. “But I did just ask you to marry me and it seemed like you said yes, so I’m thinking we can go home and talk it out after a raucous bout of make-up sex.”

Byakuya stood up. His coldness was fading to wry amusement—at least Renji thought it was. “Is that how you think marriage works?”

Renji nodded. He offered his arm for Byakuya, and was pleasantly surprised when he took it, despite the crowd. “I’m pretty sure that's how this marriage is going to work.”

#

The outside air was like a cold, sobering slap to the face after the warm, cozy bustle of the busy restaurant. As they made their way back in the direction of the Sixth Division, Renji felt confident they’d successfully diverted disaster.

Then Byakuya asked, “What was his name?”

“Who?”

“Your lover, your… one night stand.” The sneer in Byakuya’s tone was sharp. “Whatever gentleman it was you ‘hooked up’ with.” 

Renji glanced over at Byakuya. They still walked side-by-side, arm-in-arm. With their three inch height difference, all Renji could really see was the top of Byakuya’s unadorned head. It was still amazing to him how naked Byakuya looked without the kenseikan. And younger.

And jealous.

“It wasn’t no gentlemen,” Renji chuckled.

“Thug, then,” Byakuya said quickly. It was clear he had no intention of giving up this line of pursuit. “One of your filthy Eleventh Division compatriots, I suppose?”

 _Filthy._ He would have to go there. “This is a bad idea, Byakuya,” Renji cautioned. “It’s better if you don’t know.”

“Is it?” Byakuya wondered, almost sounding rational. “I’m afraid my imagination is quite unkind. It doesn’t help that I’ve seen what you lie with given half the chance.”

Renji stopped. “Okay, that’s just uncool. Always with my friends. Always calling them names.”

Byakuya had continued walking a step and now turned around in the street to face Renji. They were still in the neighborhood of the Seventh. The homes belonged to laborers, most of which were home for the evening. Soft lantern light burned in interior windows, but most of the shops were shuttered. The streets were quiet, with only a few passing souls headed to bars or restaurants.

The night was dark. Stars shone above them. Rising over Byakuya’s shoulder was the cold, empty face of the silvery moon.

“Perhaps so,” Byakuya agreed, though it was hardly an apology from the sounds of it. More of a statement of fact. Agreement. Gray eyes, hidden by the night’s shadow, were leveled at Renji. Though he couldn’t see them, he felt the weight of the penetrating stare. “I wish to know my rival. Tell me who it is, Renji.”

Renji choked out a laugh. He couldn’t help it. Gawky, sweet Isane as a rival to Byakuya? It was ridiculous! “You have no fucking rivals, you dipshit. You’re peerless.”

The ground trembled a little. Bits of cobblestone rattled into the air. Renji wasn’t sure if it was because he’d laughed or because he’d just called the twenty-eight Kuchiki clan head a ‘dipshit.’ The reiatsu was clearly a warning and nothing Renji couldn’t rebuff and counter with his own.

For now.

Then, Byakuya seemed to take a calming breath. Bits of stone clunked back to the ground with a sound like hard rain or sleet. “If I am so ‘peerless,’ why did you fall into another man’s bed?”

“It was a drunken one-off!” Renji shouted, exasperated. “I told you this, like, sixteen times already, and, gods damn it, it wasn’t no fucking dude, anyway! It was Isane, okay? It was Lieutenant Kotetsu from the Fourth.”

Byakuya stood there, unmoving for a long time. Renji could almost sense Byakuya trying to recall her face. Then, he said in a thoughtful voice, “Indeed? The tall, lanky one, with the gray hair? I rather assumed she was a lesbian.”

“Well, apparently, not.” Renji said, still half-shouting. “At least not all the time.”

“Yes, yes,” Byakuya said, turning back to the estate as if nothing had happened. “You should have just said it was a woman, Renji. I understand you’re not the same with women.”

“What?”

Renji stood in the middle of the street as Byakuya continued walking forward, clearly expecting Renji to catch up. Over his shoulder, Byakuya said, “Women don’t mean as much to you.”

“What?” Renji repeated. Hating himself a little for it, he jogged up beside Byakuya. “Where the fuck do you get that? You know I’m bisexual. Like you.”

“Not like me,” Byakuya insisted. “Rukia explained to me that while you have sex with both, you only truly fall for men.”

Renji opened his mouth, but no words came out, only an incoherent gape of rage and bewilderment. 

Because of course Rukia would say that. It would be easier for her, wouldn’t it, if Renji’s feelings for her were just… what? Puppy love? And, what was he going to say to Byakuya? No, dude, you have it wrong. I’ve never loved anyone like I’ve loved Rukia, I gave my heart and soul to her, you should know that, you’re the one who stole her from me and made it impossible for us to ever be together.

No, he couldn’t say that. It wasn’t entirely true, or… fair, he supposed. 

It wasn’t just Byakuya that stood in the way of whatever could have been with Rukia. It was himself. His cowardice, his demon. Even though he’d had his eyes opened, Renji had been willing to kill her. On orders. On Byakuya’s orders.

But that was a whole other ball of fucked up. He shook himself off to concentrate on this particular new WTF. “So, it’s all cool, if I’m off sticking it in lady parts?”

“No need to be crude, Renji,” Byakuya said. “But, essentially, yes.”

“What about Matsumoto? I distinctly remember you giving me and her the stink eye,” Renji said.

“That was before I knew about your preferences.”

“Which you know for a fact because Rukia told you,” Renji pointed out. “And you figure she knows me better than I know myself.”

Byakuya failed to see the irony. “Yes.”

“Is this where I need to point out that she last knew me with I was a young buck in Academy and we haven’t exactly exchanged more than three words in the intervening seventy five years?”

“Are you saying she’s not your very best childhood friend?” Byakuya asked.

“No, I’m saying she was way more than that.”

Byakuya’s step faltered, but then he pulled his kimono straighter and continued onward. “If you’re trying to shock me by implying that the two of you were lovers, I know you’re just ‘riling me up.’”

“We weren’t lovers, but I loved her,” Renji said, and he silently added: _And I wouldn’t have been her lover; I would have been her husband._ The thought struck him hard, because it was true. Rukia was the only one he would have married. Maybe even babies, too. If it was with her. But that thought was… well, it was well beyond too late. “But clearly she had no fucking clue. Fucking Ichigo and fucking Rukia are fucking made for each other. They’re so fucking clueless.”

Byakuya shocked Renji by reaching out and clasping his hand. “Rukia is exceptional. So, of course, she’s the exception for you.”

Renji gave Byakuya a sidelong glance. Apparently, there was no shaking Byakuya off this idea Rukia had planted in his head. As irritating as it was, Renji figured he might as well give up and let Byakuya win this one. At least it served to defuse the whole ‘affair’ thing.

So he gave a little nod, as if to say, ‘wow, you’re so right about me,’ and muttered, “Yeah. She sure is special.”

If Byakuya detected the note of sarcasm in Renji’s tone, he made no note of it. Instead, he nodded at the high-end clothing store on the block ahead and said, “We’re nearly home.”

Renji fumed silently for a while, watching Byakuya’s careful progress along the street. Something about his steps and the way he still held Renji’s hand made Renji ask, “Are you drunk?”

It would explain these massive emotional shifts. Byakuya might normally have them, but he didn’t usually show them. Not standing in the middle of a public street, anyway.

Byakuya’s lips moved, as if he were silently trying answers out. Finally, he said, a bit peevishly: “The beer was uncommonly strong.”

“Yeah, we should’ve figured if Captain Kyōraku recommended it, eh?” Renji smiled, but he was growing uneasy. As the wall of the estate loomed into view, he found he’d been holding his breath. “You know, um,” Renji started, not sure what he wanted to say, but feeling the need to venture forward, “Let’s order you up some tea when we get in, okay? We’ll have the new guy bring it up, what’s his name?”

“Hitoshi,” Byakuya said. 

Renji listened carefully; Byakuya’s pronunciation was pretty good, mostly un-slurred. The last bit was a tiny bit sloppy, like he was lingering on ‘shi,’ on ‘death.’ Renji started in surprise at his own thought. Cripes, why did he go to such a morbid thought? Must be the fight. It had made him agitated, though it was harder to blame Byakuya for his arrogance knowing he was drunk. Arrogance was one of the things drinking always seemed to exacerbate. That, and temper.

They’d had a dose of both of those so far tonight.

“Yes,” Byakuya said, as though in answer to an unspoken question or line of internal thought, “We should have more to drink when we get in. But, not tea.”

“Uh…” This was weird. “You want to get drunker?”

“Yes,” Byakuya said steadily, as though he was proud of having had this thought.

The wall of the estate went on for miles in either direction. Frost crystalized in the crevasses of the stone, making it twinkle red and green in the flickering lantern light. They’d be coming to the gate soon. Renji rubbed his arms for warmth. Drunk Byakuya was not exactly a favorite of Renji’s so he couldn’t quite keep that opinion out of his tone when he asked: “Why?”

“To celebrate our… engagement, of course,” Byakuya said. “Also, I would like to…” Byakuya ran his hand along the rough stone, as they walked as if trying to pull strength from its solidity. “…be more giving tonight.”

Giving? What the fuck? Renji scratched the back of his neck trying to puzzle this out. “You want to what?”

Byakuya’s patience snapped. He stopped walking, causing Renji to nearly collide with him. “Why do you never understand subtlety? I’m trying to give a little here, you moronic baboon. After this fight and the engagement, I was thinking of letting you…” he couldn’t quite say something so, he seemed to settle on: “lead.”

Lead? 

Oh. Like in the bedroom, lead.

“You need to get drunk to let me top?” Renji blurted a little louder than intended. He and Byakuya both instinctively glanced up the height of the estate wall, checking for a passing patrol. Dropping his voice to a hiss, Renji pulled Byakuya in closer and added, “Also, when does that ever work out? Usually drunk Byakuya is bully Byakuya.”

Byakuya’s eyes hardened. “Unhand me.”

“Huh?” Renji hadn't even realized he’d grabbed Byakuya’s elbow. He’d pushed them both into the shadow of the wall and stood over Byakuya. Fuck, what was he doing? Letting Byakuya go, he jumped back like he’d been burned. “Shit. Sorry.”

“Perhaps we’ve both had too much to drink,” Byakuya flicked out his sleeve, as if shaking off dirt. 

“Yeah,” Renji agreed, staring at his hands like they belonged to a stranger. Cripes, he knew better than to push Byakuya up against a wall like that. “I don’t know what happened there.”

Byakuya was already walking away towards the estate. “And you wonder why I refuse to slacken your leash.”

“The fuck you just say?”

Byakuya stopped. He didn’t turn around, but he didn’t need to. His voice was clear and hard, bouncing in echo on the stone. “Do I really need to repeat myself? Perhaps use simpler language?”

The only language Renji wanted to use at the moment was his fist. Rage roared in his ear, but he held on, focusing on keeping his reiatsu contained, his breathing as even as possible. Because, he knew to give in was just proving Byakuya's point. “Kuchiki, you better just be fucking around. The only way this works at all is if it’s a game.”

Except it hadn’t always been play, had it? They both knew it, and it hung there in the air between them like the poisonous fog of Kurotsuchi’s bankai. 

_Yeah, but he’s drunk_ , Renji told himself. _He don’t mean this. He’s just mad because I pushed him._

“I have tolerated ‘dipshit’ and now ‘Kuchiki.’ You overstep.”

His name? He was fucking thinking about his precious name right now? “I sure as shit ain’t calling you ‘Taicho,’” Renji snarled. “So, I guess it’s Bya-kun, huh?”

Renji saw it coming. Byakuya probably forgot he could. But, with a blast of his own shunpo, Renji got a hand up in time to deflect the blow. Inuzuri brawling instincts had Renji’s left shooting out before he could process any real thought. At least he had a split second to shift from fist to flat palm as he hit Byakuya square in the solar plexus. The blow was amplified by Byakuya’s own momentum and sent him, flying, clear across the street. Byakuya collided with the shop’s window with a rattling shatter of shutters.

“Shit!” Renji shouted at the both of them. Fuck his instincts! Fuck Byakuya’s fucking temper! “Fucking stand down!” he yelled at Byakuya…and himself, like he would to one of the Division’s soldiers.

But it wasn’t necessary. No retaliation was forthcoming. Byakuya gaped for breath where he stood, plastered against the shop’s shuttered windows. Bits of broken bamboo rained down around him. 

Renji ran over to him, with a spew of apologies and swearing. “Jeez, I’m sorry, what the hell was that? Were you fucking going to slap me, you piece of pompous...? Gods damn it, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Renji’s hands kept reaching for Byakuya, but Byakuya slapped him away.

When he finally got his breath, it came in a sucking rattle, “What are we doing, Renji?”

“I don’t know,” Renji said, desperately. “Fuck it all, let me get you home. Are you okay?”

“You knocked the breath out of my lungs,” Byakuya said sounding surprised and a little impressed. He shook himself out, sending more bits of bamboo to the ground. He finally took Renji’s hand and let Renji help him away from the Byakuya sized hole in the shutters. 

Lights were turning on all around them. Renji could hear the shout of the patrol. He stepped away from Byakuya and raised his hands in surrender. The rush of sandaled feet was nearly on top of them. Ah, fuck, so much for getting them home quietly. He should have known better. “Look, I’ll just spend the night in lock up. It’s cool. Just don’t take Zabimaru.”

Byakuya face had lost all its hardness. He blinked, as if coming out of a stupor. “What? What are you talking about?”

The guards came into view. A half dozen of them, weapons drawn. He knew each and every one of them by name and a weird part of Renji was pleased that he’d trained them well enough that they didn’t even slow down when they recognized him. Renji kept his hands up, but he pitched his voice low. “Here’s where fraternization fucks us up, lover.”


End file.
